Ribbon Wrapped Headbands DIY. I made these as a few last minute gifts:

I used plain plastic headbands purchased from Target and soft satin ribbon. You can also order the plastic headbands from The Soda Pop Shop here. The Aleene’s Tacky Spray (make sure to use an acid free spray) is used to hold the ribbon in place.

I bought these fabulous beaded bows from Target Trim in L.A to embellish the hairbands with. They run about $6 each retail (maybe less if you are wholesale) and come in a variety of colors. You can place an order over the phone to them.

To start wrapping my headbands I sprayed the ends of the plastic band with the tacky spray:

I folded a piece of ribbon over the bottom of each band end:

Then I spray the entire headband:

Starting at one end, I began carefully wrapping my ribbon around the band:

Once I reached the other side I just tucked the ribbon under and secured it with a little hot glue:

A finished band:

Using hot glue I attached the beaded bows to the top of the hairband:

A great way to make your own headband to match whatever embellishment you want to add to the top!

Step 1: One you have a fabric print finished and ironed, place the fabric wrong sides together onto a piece of fabric for the back of the toy. Cut out the image with a 1-inch border surrounding it so that you have a front and a back:

Step 2: Cut various 3″ mismatching pieces of scrap ribbon.

Step 3: On the front of the toy, fold each ribbon piece in half and pin in place as shown:

Step 4: Add as many ribbon pieces as you prefer:

Step 5: Using a 1/4″ seam, sew all the way around the front of the toy to attach the ribbon.

Step 6: Take out your pins and place the back of the toy face down onto the front. Sew all the way around using a 1/2″ seam and leaving a gap…..

….so that the toy can be turned right side out. (If you have curves in your design you will need to “notch” the seams before you turn it inside out so the edges look smooth)

Step 7: Top stitch all the way around the toy using an 1/8″ seam and making sure not to close the gap yet….you’ll need to add stuffing:

Step 8: Add your choice of stuffing:

Step 9: Carefully fold under the open section of the toy and top stitch it closed:

To make a crinkle tag toy:

Cut a piece of cellophane or plastic packaging (like from a microwave popcorn package):

These are the little wallet/clutches I made for the SYTYC Contest for the theme “Green.” I was going to wait until after Thanksgiving to post the tutorial, but I had so many requests that I thought I’d do it early. Maybe you want to stay in on Black Friday and make some handmade presents for Christmas instead of shopping!

The wallets have a clear vinyl ID/photo wallet and three pockets for cash and credit cards.

They are so interesting when folded out!

I made one of the wallets for Sienna’s teacher and one for Sienna (with the little princess button/ribbon flower on the front). She keeps her little pet shop puppies in it now….she doesn’t have any money….not even sure if she knows what money is yet.

Materials needed:
Scrap ribbon
Wonder Under or fusible web (I used the kind without backing)
Muslin fabric for the base of the outside
Fabric for the inside lining
Magnetic clasp
Optional: clear vinyl PVC (for the ID pocket)

Note: All the dimensions in this tutorial are for the wallet size. You will have to adjust them for the clutch size.

Step 2: Place the Wonder Under on top of the muslin and begin layering your scrap ribbon pieces on top until the Wonder Under is completely covered. Try to overlap all ends of the ribbon with other pieces of ribbon. As you get sections completed, place a piece of parchment paper over the ribbons (use parchment paper if there is printed design on the ribbons) and apply heat with an iron to fuse the Wonder Under. You may need to cut several small pieces of the Wonder Under and place it under pieces of ribbon that do not come into contact with the fusible web.

Step 3: Once all of your ribbon has been fused to the muslin, trim off the excess around edges….

……so you end up with a nice 5″ x 11″ piece.

Step 4: Carefully sew all your exposed ribbon edges to the muslin….this doesn’t have to be exact. There were areas where I just sewed directly across the piece instead of following a ribbon edge….it just depends on the look you want.

….and sew around the edges of each piece to keep all the ribbon secured.

Step 6: Cut fabric pieces for your inside lining: one measuring 3″ x 5″ and two measuring 4″ x 5″. You will also need to cut a 3″ x 5″ piece of fabric or clear PVC vinyl for the inside pocket.

Step 7Creating your ID pocket piece: Take a piece of ribbon and fold it in half over the 3″ x 5″ PVC piece. Sew along the ribbon edge.

Take one of your 3″ x 5″ ribbon quilt pieces and add one side of your magnetic clasp.

Sandwich your ribbon quilt piece with the magnetic clasp and a 3″ x 5″ piece of lining wrong sides together. Add your PVC piece on top of the two and sew the bottom edge.

Step 8Creating your middle pocket piece: Cut three pieces of fabric 4″ x 2″ and then cut a slight slant to each as shown below.

Take a piece of ribbon and fold it in half over the slanted edge of each piece (the same as you did with the PVC pocket. Sew along the ribbon edges. Place your top pocket in position first and sew along the bottom.

Then sew your middle on and then the bottom pocket on as well.

Step 9Creating the top piece: Take your 3″ x 5″ piece of ribbon quilt and a 3″ x 5″ piece of lining and place them wrong sides together. Make sure to add your magnetic clasp first to the lining side. Sew around the edges to secure the two pieces together.

Step 10: Lay out your three pieces as shown….

…..and find a piece of ribbon wide enough to cover where the pieces will connect but leaving a 1/4″ gap in between.

Step 11: Fold your ribbon over the gap….

…..I used seam tape to secure (or you can use small pieces of Wonder Under)…..

…..and sew both up both sides of the ribbon…..connecting the two pieces of the wallet.

Step 12: Repeat to connec the last two piece of the wallet. Use bias tape or ribbon to cover the outside edges of the wallet…..

…..and now all seams should be covered!

Now you can add embellishments to the front of the wallet if you like. For the brown/green wallet I added little flowers made from scrap ribbons, a plain button decorated with thread, a small ribbon “fan” covered with a gold/pearl button, and a ribbon badge with a matching fabric covered button.

Optional: Add a personalized label

I added the little ribbon label inside that reads “Handmade especially for Mrs. Patty. Much love, Sienna” to make the wallet a little more special.

I printed the label on iron on transfer paper, adhere it to a scrap ribbon, and sewed it onto the lining before sewing the piece together in step 9.

Step 8: Somewhere on one of the sides, mark a 4″ gap to leave open so that you can insert your strap when the cover is done.

Step 9: Fold the contrasting fabric all way around at the 1/2″ mark.

Step 10: Topstitch 1/8″ between the two marks you made for the gap…..

….and topstitch both ends 1/8″.

Step 11: Placing both pieces wrong sides together, topstitch 1/8″ from the edge all the way around to connect the two…..

….making sure NOT to stitch your “gap” or ends closed where you “pre” topstitched.

Step 12: You’re done! Insert your camera strap ends through the gap and to each side….pull the entire strap into the cover. I got the idea on how to insert the camera strap from Petchy. Petchy made hers with the ends narrower too so that the cover doesn’t slip to either side.

No one will ever mistake my camera for their camera….and now my husband will probably be embarrassed to use mine!

If you aren’t interested in going through the tedious process of making a scrap ribbon camera strap…..check out Shealynn’s designs in her Etsy shop! They are great and she’ll add custom features for you!

I have so many ribbon scraps that are under 2″ and I’ve contemplated throwing them out many times. This is what I came up with to use them all up….a ribbon belt. But you could use this technique for tons of other things….a headband, a purse strap, a drink coaster…..I had to narrow it down eventually!

Update: Project time is about 2 hours. Sewing the belt in small increments actually makes it go faster than you think…..

The belt pictured is reversible to the pink and green jacquard backing.

I used every ribbon combination imaginable. The more colors, the more interesting. Making the belt I worked in small 6 inch sections and tried to limit the repeat of ribbon throughout.

Step 2: Take scrap pieces of ribbon and line up next to each other on your cotton webbing. You can pin the ribbon……

…..but it is easiest just to put each ribbon on one at a time as you sew down the side of the cotton webbing (about 1/8″ from the edge of the belt). Just make sure to leave your needle down when you lift the foot up to place the next ribbon. Stop once you get 6 or 7 inches of ribbons added (I refer to these as your “short” ribbons). This 6 to 7 inch length is about all that is manageable to weave at one time.

Step 3: Place 2 to 3 ribbons perpendicular to the ribbons you just sewed on (I refer to these as your “long” ribbons). Sew these ribbons onto the cotton webbing.

Step 4: Weave the long ribbons over and under the short ribbons.

Step 4: Making sure all the ribbons fit tightly together, sew the other end of the long ribbon pieces to secure them to the belt.

Step 5: Carefully sew the short ribbons securely to the belt (about 1/8″ from the edge of the belt).

Step 6: Trim your shorter ribbons on each side so that they are flush with the cotton webbing….

…..and trim your longer ribbons leaving about 1/4″.

Step 7: Repeat all of the previous steps starting with laying a piece of short ribbon over the 1/4″ ends that were just trimmed. Continue until you have another 6 to 7 inch length of short ribbons sewn on to the belt.

Step 8: Add your 2 to 3 longer ribbons by sewing directly over the stitch that secured the previous long ribbons. Then trim these ends to about 1/8″.

Note: In between steps you might want to add Fray Check to your ribbon edges if they start to unravel.

My assistant was a huge help in picking out each sequence of ribbons.

Step 9: Use a zigzag stitch to sew all the edges of the belt.

Optional: I cut a long piece of ribbon jacquard (1″ shorter than my belt length to leave room for the D rings) to sew onto the back of the belt for decoration and attached it with the zigzag stitch.

Step 10: Place your D rings on one end of the belt…..

……and fold your belt end back, and sew the fold closed. You may have to use a zipper foot here if your D rings get in the way (I had enough room and was able to use the regular foot).

These are as easy as curtains get. I used ribbon to hang simple square curtains and then used the same ribbon throughout my daughter’s room to tie everything together (no, Sienna does not have a mural yet). I’ve also used this ribbon technique for shower curtains. Sienna doesn’t have an overhead light in her room, so I made her curtains so light would show through. In this tutorial I also include an option for adding a liner or blackout fabric.

Here are some curtains in Sienna’s room, the lighting makes it hard to get a good photo.

If you’ve never made curtains or drapes before, here is any easy tutorial I put together for the main curtain piece, I made it a download so you can print it off easily. You will need to create this piece/pieces first.

Main Curtain Piece Tutorial

I like to hand stitch the sides of the curtains with a slipstitch like I show in the download. For me, the slip stitch looks nice and I think it is relaxing to do in front of the TV while I am catching up on my taped reality shows! Make sure to have some quilters beeswax (I use Dritz) on hand to run your thread through or you will be cursing the thread as it tangles!

Once you have your main curtain pieces finished, sew 1/2 inch plastic drapery rings (you can find them in the drapery section of your fabric store) onto the main curtain piece about 1 inch down from the top edge. Space the rings out about 6 to 8 inches apart making sure that you have one ring at each corner.

Next for each plastic ring, you will need 30″ of ribbon. I like to use the kind with wire in it so I can shape the finished bow. Thread your ribbon through each loop like shown below:

For each ribbon, drape both ends over the curtain rod pointing away from you….

Bring both ends of the ribbon around and tie in the front…..

And then complete your bow!

Cut the end of each bow into a “V” and add some Fray Check to the ends to keep them from unraveling.

I used the rest of my ribbon around my daughter’s room to tie everything together. I added some ribbon to this bird cage on top of the hutch……

….and made bows to decorate these Beatrix Potter-themed frames I put together (the bows are only decorative, the frames actually hang by themselves).

Let me know if you have any questions about making the curtains! Anyone can do this tutorial….

These pillowcase dresses were made for a friend’s daughters. I used Naptime Crafts’ tutorial here. I had to guess on their sizes and Naptime Crafts’ had all the measurements I needed!

Both fabrics I got from Joann’s. The ribbon I think I picked up at Michael’s a while ago.

I made bias tape to match the bottom fabric band.

I rarely make bias tape because I think it is such a pain…..BUT I came across this easy tutorial at Creative Little Daisy. I feel like it is a big secret everyone has been keeping from me! It is by far the best sewing trick I’ve come across YET. If you think you have one to beat it let me know 😉

Here is Sienna modeling the larger size of the dress. She’s getting a little better at posing….she’ll actually look at the camera now!

I’ve been looking everywhere for a wooden paper towel holder that I could use to hold up the dowel that all my ribbon is organized on but I haven’t been able to find one! I got fed up today and just hung the dowel below one of my shelves using string…and I’m really happy with the way it turned out! I feel much more organized tonight…..

If you have any type of area dedicated to crafting, painting or general projects in your house (or want to) you HAVE to pick up a copy of Cloth, Paper, Scissors’ new special publication Studios at your local bookstore (in the magazine section). It showcases 25 inspiring studios that are amazing. Seriously, you have to pick it up just to see Tim Holz’s studio…it looks more like a store and I am SO envious of his organization. I love to see where people work…..if you have photos of your workspace send me a link and I’ll put together a “studios” post!

My parents have been visiting which means I have had free time galore this week! I put up more shelves in my studio and it motivated me to clean up a bit. I am very thankful that my husband has dedicated an entire room as my studio. He puts up with a lot. Many times I have projects going on simultaneously in the dining room, outside on the patio, in the garage, on the driveway ….anywhere I can find space. I took photos of my newly organized studio and share them below!

My sewing side of my studio…..

The “everything else” side of my studio…..

My desk is just a 3 foot wide door I bought at Home Depot one day and placed across 2 small bookshelves. I built shelves above and around my workspace using a track system. All you need is a stud-finder and a drill and a skill-saw.

I use old cigar boxes that I pick up at cigar stores to hold stamp sets, carving sets and other things I want to keep together in one place.

A random stash of stuff in a drawer…no idea where I got the roll of “Jesus” tape…..

Orphaned photos I picked up in antique stores…..

Here is Sienna getting into my ribbon (and…yes…she is still wearing Santa/Frosty pjs in April…it is a battle I lost). I can’t imagine any space more tempting for a 2-year-old than an art studio. Last night we were having a dinner party and I found her in my studio trying to thread the sewing machine…and amazingly she was getting pretty close to having it threaded!